Shepherd Center set a new fundraising record this month through its annual employee giving initiative, called “ShepherdCares,” raising more than $113,000 to buy a new, state-of-the-art, accessible bus to be used for field trips for its young adult patient program.

Each year, the ShepherdCares Advisory Committee carefully selects a program to support. The 2012 campaign was dedicated to raising money to purchase a new wheelchair accessible iBus, which includes the latest in technological devices for people with disabilities, to shuttle its young adult patients to and from outings in the community.

Gary Ulicny, Ph.D., president and CEO of Shepherd Center, announced that the 2012 initiative raised $113,500 over a three-week period in September. A record 870 employees (83 percent participation) contributed. Last year’s initiative raised more than $110,000 to purchase a new accessible van for patient driving training in the Dora and Ed Voyles Assistive Technology Center.

“I am always impressed by the giving spirit of our employees,” Ulicny said. “But this further proves that not only are our employees generous, they are truly dedicated to the patients here at Shepherd Center.”

The 2012 initiative theme was “Get On Board,” and the original goal was to raise $100,000 for the vehicle. Honorary co-chairs of the campaign were Brock Bowman, M.D., associate medical director of Shepherd Center and Susan Johnson, program director of the Acquired Brain Injury Program. Midge Tracy, director of volunteer services coordinated the giving initiative.

About Shepherd Center

Shepherd Center, located in Atlanta, Georgia, is a private, not-for-profit hospital specializing in medical treatment, research and rehabilitation for people with spinal cord injury, brain injury, multiple sclerosis, spine and chronic pain, and other neuromuscular conditions. Founded in 1975, Shepherd Center is ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the top 10 rehabilitation hospitals in the nation. In its more than four decades, Shepherd Center has grown from a six-bed rehabilitation unit to a world-renowned, 152-bed hospital that treats more than 935 inpatients, 541 day program patients and more than 7,300 outpatients each year.